class picnic

it's hard to believe caleb is almost finished with his first year of preschool! today his class celebrated by having an indoor picnic since it was pouring down rain outside. he had lots of fun despite being stuck in the gym and abram, especially, enjoyed being at school with him for it.



his best bud/cousin (and a mouthful of food!)

safety first!

twins

no, i'm not having twins! but my cousin, kelli, did and the boys finally got to meet them. they all were very interested at first, but then abram realized he wasn't on mommy's lap and caleb decided just looking was a safer option. eli, though, was dying to hold them and even wanted to stay to help them when it was time to go :)
keira ann

daddy holding a delicate baby girl

cole phillip

aren't they precious?!
ps. the boys were fresh out of the shower after playing outside all day, so that's why they have on pj's :)

60

happy birthday mawmaw marty!!
we made her this stepping stone with pictures of her grandchildren to put by her little garden.

child advocacy

susie's vision has become a reality in our community. click here to read about susie's place. we helped celebrate it's opening this weekend with mawmaw (who is on the board of directors) by...
jumping!


eating treats!

face painting!



and playing games!

southwestern dip

this stuff is SO good!! lots of requests have been made for the recipe, so here it is. i just paired it with my tostadas the other night and it was perfect!

1 1/2 c sour cream (light)
1/2 c mayo (light)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chilies, drained
tortilla chips
in a medium bowl, mix all ingredients except cheese, chilies. stir in cheese and chilies. cover & refrigerate 2-4 hours to blend flavors. serve with tortilla chips.
(from bc.com)

close your eyes & bow your head

after going through all of jerry's heart issues this past year...ablation #1 that failed, cardioversion that failed, then ablation #2 that worked...i can't even begin to imagine one of my baby boys going through this! i, along with thousands of other bloggers, have been following stellan's story, watching and praying for God to heal his body. God has given this mother strength beyond human powers and will continue to take care of this family in ways that only He can. join me and others from around the world in praying for stellan and his family...

another sweet performance

he even saved up some chocolate drool for ya this time!

if you would like a rerun of his very first performance, just click here.

a good sign...

that summertime is near :)

declaring his profession

i don't have a recipe to share this week, so instead i'll share a cute story/conversation i had with my 7 year old...
we were on our way to school and we always pass a little cemetery. eli said to me, "mom, i wanna dig up all those people so i can see their bones". besides being a little creepy, i thought it was an interesting statement. but of course, i had to clarify for him that we can't just dig up people's bones...in fact, i'm pretty sure that's against the law. so, i proceeded to give him other options for "seeing bones". i said, "well, how about you be a surgeon?" he then reminded me of the time i was watching a surgery take place on tv and he was very grossed out by it. so then i ventured on..."well, how about you become a radiologist...they are a type of doctor that looks at bones ALL day". he wanted to know if he'd have a helper and i assured him that there are technicians that actually take the pictures of the bones for you, etc. he seemed very satisfied with the idea, so i talked about how long it would take him to go to college and how he would definitely have money to take care of his family, give to his church, help others, etc. his main concern though..."mom, will i have days off or do i have to sleep at the hospital and look at bones ALL the time? because even when i'm a grown up, i'm gonna want to play with my legos!"...now, that's a kid with his priorities straight!

cheese, please

i mean, seriously...someone please feed this child! he can't even get his jacket off before he's shoveling chips and cheese in his mouth! that must be some good stuff!!

He is risen!

easter morning at home...
looking handsome after church...

easter at mawmaw and pawpaw's with cousins...





after the easter egg hunt with 2nd cousin, anna, who hid the eggs...what a great day to celebrate our Saviour!

a few broken eggs

i have to admit that coloring eggs is not on my list of favorite things to do. but, i do it anyway because...it's tradition, it's fun to ruin clothes & dishrags, it's great to watch kids break eggs, it's wonderful to smell 14 boiled eggs in your fridge every time you open it, etc. and why would i want to miss out on another memory-making moment with my 3 baby boys?!

we told eli to go get an old shirt and he came down with this white shirt on :)


caleb was very proud of this orange egg...it had at least 25 stickers on it!

the finished product...which will end up either a.)rotten in the fridge or b.)made into VERY colorful egg salad (that's what happens when you crack them during the coloring process, ya know!)

dinos

we love our library! they have so many great programs and fun, educational activities for families. best of all, it's free!! tonight, the boys and i went to a dinosaur show to learn more about one of their favorite creatures. we started off with my attempt at making dinosaur pancakes (yes, i know they're pathetic, but abram especially, loved them!).
then we sent daddy off to work while we went to the show.

caleb got picked to be a helper and did a great job :)
abram refused to stand anywhere near the t-rex, so that's why he's missing.

fiesta pasta salad

this week's recipe is a new favorite for us, hands down! we're really into "fresh" tastes this spring and this one definitely was a perfect combination of flavors and "fresh". you could easily adapt the recipe to add other veggies or even make it meat-less. using a prepackaged mix makes it an easy weeknight dinner.

1 package suddenly salad classic pasta salad mix
1/3 c sour cream
3 tbsp water
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 c cherry tomato halves
1/2 c green pepper strips
2 green onions, chopped
1 c cubed cooked chicken (i sprinkled with chili powder)
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
tortilla chips
empty pasta mix into 3 quart saucepan 2/3 full of boiling water. gently boil about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. drain pasta; rinse in cold water. shake to drain. stir together seasoning mix, sour cream, water, and chili powder in large bowl. stir in pasta-vegetable mixture, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, and parmesan topping. stir in chicken. line serving plate with tortilla chips and mound salad on top. sprinkle with cheddar cheese. top with sour cream.
**i added 1/2 cup of shredded cheese to the mixture to make it a little cheesier.
**the recipe called for salsa on the bottom of the salad, but i omitted it and honestly think it would've taken away from the taste of the salad.
(adapted from bettycrocker.com)

child 1 & 2

i've decided, for now, this is the best age difference for boys. they are the bestest of friends and love to be together...can you tell?!!

i heart faces (week 13)

this week's contest is "my friend and i".
actually, they're cousins...and quite obviously, "kissing cousins"! definitely the best of friends though. the seriousness of this picture almost makes me feel like i'm intruding by looking at it. the innocent love of 2 year olds is pretty much priceless!